THE TRANSFIGURATION / THE QUESTION ABOUT ELIJAH / THE EPILEPTIC DEMONIAC / THE SECOND PROPHECY OF THE PASSION / THE POWER OF FAITH
Now about six days after this had been said, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up a high mountain on their own by themselves to pray. It happened that, as he was praying, there in their presence he was transfigured: his face shown like the sun and his clothes became more dazzling as light, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. (Daniel 7:9, 10:6) Suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing to them in glory; and they were talking with him of his passing, which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they woke up and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. Then as these were leaving him, Peter spoke to Jesus. “Lord,” he said, “it is wonderful for us to be here; if you want me to, I will make three shelters here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what he was saying; they were so frightened. He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud (Exodus 13:21-22) came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. Suddenly from the cloud there came a voice, which said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, the Chosen One; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him. (Deuteronomy 18:15; Isaiah 42:1) When they heard this, the disciples fell on their faces, over come with fear. However, Jesus came up and touched them, saying, “Stand up, do not be afraid.” Then suddenly, when they raised their eyes and looked around, they saw no one with them anymore but only Jesus. Jesus then gave them this order, “Tell no one about this vision until the Son of man has risen from the dead.” (SEE: 2 Peter 1:16-19) They observed the warning faithfully. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen though among themselves they discussed what “rising from the dead” could mean. Now it happened that on the following day when they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples put this question to him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said to them, “Elijah is indeed first coming to set everything right again, and he will set everything right again. However, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognize him but treated him as they pleased, just as the scripture says about him. Yet how is it that the scriptures say about the Son of man that he must suffer similarly at their hands and be treated with contempt?” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist. As they were rejoining the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them. At once, they saw him. The whole crowd was so struck with amazement that they ran to greet him. He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” A man from the crowd, came up to him, went down on his knees before him, and answered him. “Lord,” he said, “Master, I implore you to look at and take pity on my only son: I have brought him to you. He is demented and in a wretched state. There is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him, it gives a sudden cry and throws him into convulsions on the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes rigid; it is slow to leave him, but when it does, it leaves the boy worn out. I took him to your disciples to drive it out and they were unable to cure him.” In reply, Jesus said, “Faithless and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring your son here to me.” They brought the boy to him, and at once the spirit of dumbness threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” “From childhood,” he said, “and it has often thrown him into fire and into water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” “If you can?” retorted Jesus. “Everything is possible for someone who has faith.” At once, the father of the boy cried out, “I have faith. Help my lack of faith!” When Jesus saw that a crowd was gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit. “Deaf and dumb spirit,” he said, “I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.” When Jesus rebuked it, it threw the boy into violent convulsions and the devil came out of the boy, who was cured at that moment, shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead.” Jesus then took him by the hand and helped him up, and being able to stand, he gave him back to his father. While everyone was awestruck by the greatness of God and full of admiration for all he did, the disciples came privately to Jesus when he had gone indoors; they asked him, “Why were we unable to drive it out?” He said to his disciples, “Because you have so little faith." The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, "In truth, I tell you, if your faith is the size of a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; you would say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you, nothing will be impossible for you. As for this kind, it is cast out only by prayer and fasting.” After leaving that place, they made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples. When they were together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “For your part, you must have these words constantly in mind: The Son of man is going to be delivered into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised up again.” A great sadness came over them. They did not understand what he said; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. Return